Blog Post #3: Prose Essay Reflection

Prose Essay

In the "Beet Queen", author Louise Erdrich describes the arrival of two very different children to an unwelcoming, dreary town. She draws contrast between the children--Karl, pure and delicate, Mary, commonplace and worn--through their reactions to the unforgiving chill that permeates the town. Erdrich strengthens her comparison through careful word choice, shifting perspective, and an entranced, exhausted tone; these elements are combined to illustrate a cold, gray town, which matches tired, normal Mary and rejects vibrant Karl.

Erdrich includes details purposefully to characterize the town and the siblings. She begins with Karl, describing his "fine" skin and "sweetly curbed" mouth, but doesn't completely ostracize him, describing him as "very pale". This creates an image of a boy who is naive and pure, "pink" from the cold, of color. Mary is later described as "ordinary" and "practical", similar to the town which is a "weathered gray". The author shows that both Mary and the town are worn, whereas Karl is delicate, young, like a blossoming flower. She uses the specific details so she can create these contrasting images, of a boy who stands out and a girl who fits in.
Erdrich expands this method of characterization by creating a specific tone. Her writing is calm and flows gently, describing the town's situation as "much better" than others, depicting this by mentioning the "newly tilled" topsoil. Although she displays the town's prospects to be hopeful, the town's weather takes precedence in characterizing itself. The weather is unforgiving to the newcomers; after their "all night" journey, the chill reaches "deep". Mary "trudged solidly" in the "strange" environment. This weary tone not only suggests that they are tired, but that the unfamiliar territory has left the siblings in an almost trance-like state.
In the colorless environment, a weak tree--"a scratch of light against the gray of everything else"--draws Karl's attention. Once "very pale", he is now pink, unlike the rest of the town and Mary who remain dry and ordinary. The author describes this scene from Mary's perspective, shifting from an omniscient point of view. This change creates a contrast between Mary and Karl, as Mary cannot understand his actions. Later, the tree dies, bears "no blossoms" and blends into the rest of the town as well. This change is opposite to that of Karl's.
Erdrich paints a deep contrast between color, life, and warmth and gray, death, and the cold through careful selection of detail and a weary, unfamiliar tone. She describes the addition of ordinary into the gray town and shows its rejection of Karl. The unforgiving cold reveals his difference by turning his cheeks pink, out-casting him like the tree. And while the tree surrenders, its leaves falling and sap sinking into the roots, Karl runs.

Reflection

We were given an AP Lit prose FRQ prompt, in which we were asked to analyze the choices made by Louise Erdrich in “The Beet Queen”. At first, I was unfazed; the text--in length, font, and structure--looked similar to that of any prompt in AP Comp. I took my time and annotated the piece, correctly noting specific uses of selection of detail and imagery, finding specific quotes that added to my piece. However, going back, I realized that although my analysis correctly identified elements of the piece, it failed to address the complexity. I was able to recognize techniques and explain their purpose, but I left my analysis at the surface level, in black-and-white, ignoring the gray area that is, of course, always hidden in great literature. For this reason, I would score this essay as a 5 or 6--the “reasonable” analysis “depicts the impact of the environment on the two children”, but is “superficial”. Realizing this is slightly frustrating, as I missed the complexity in the poetry piece as well and, this time, only missed it because I simply forgot to address it. In the future, after reading the prompt/piece, I will allocate three minutes to carefully planning out my essay. I will bullet my points in advanced and tie each one to an element that explores a deeper level of the piece. This way, I will have a good idea of the purpose of my response. By being able to create a well thought out, organized analysis, I will also be able to remember to include all expected elements. Having experienced the prose essay, I am comforted, because it was easier than expected. I plan to channel my frustration from this initial round into excitement for the next prompt--I will make better use of my time, craft a more thorough and effective analysis, and improve my score.

Comments

Akane Ohara's Blog

This piece is a very well-written, “reasonable” analysis of “The Beet Queen” by Louise Erdrich! You strategically revealed evidence of “sustained, competent reading of the passage” by acknowledging the year--1932--and the context's significance to the piece. It would have had a greater impact if you continued to focus on this element throughout the piece, but it is a well timed reference nonetheless. I was also impressed by how you tied the quotes to the “tone, imagery, selection of detail, and point of view”; I think the strongest/most impressive section was the paragraph that used the sleepwalking quote to reveal the enchanted tone of the piece. Although your selection of quotes was not as “apt” as usual, they were woven in well to the text and added to your argument. Although the piece could have placed a stronger emphasis on the complexity of the piece and Karl’s feelings, the explanation of the contrast between Karl and Mary was well done. The flow of logic was clear and easy to follow, making the piece an enjoyable read and worthy of a 6.

Revision

In the “Beet Queen”, author Louise Erdrich explores the differing perspectives of siblings. Mary is commonplace and worn, blending in perfectly with the environment, whereas Karl is pure and delicate, a stark contrast to the universe around him. Erdrich strengthens her contrast between the reactions of both siblings through antithesis, imagery and opposing tones.

Erdrich initially foreshadows the difference between the reactions of the siblings. Prior to introducing the characters, Erdrich introduces the setting, concluding that that morning, “the train brought both an addition and subtraction” (7). The uses of antithesis emphasizes the contrast between both nouns and suggests that the contrast will be a common theme throughout the piece. More importantly, it emphasizes that the arriving siblings will have opposing reactions to the environment.

Mary and Karl have entirely different appearances. Mary fits in perfectly with the environment. She is  "ordinary" and "practical", similar to the town which is a "weathered gray". The author’s decision to use words of similar, plain connotation when describing Mary and the town allows the reader to associate them together. Karl, conversely, sticks out of the environment like a sore thumb. The author describes his "fine" skin and "sweetly curbed" mouth, using words of a delicate, soft connotation. This is a stark contrast to the worn, ordinariness of Mary and the town around them.

However, their differences are not limited to appearance alone, and are emphasized through their reactions to the blossoming tree. The tree, “a scratch of light against the gray of everything else" pops out, like Karl, in the colorless environment. Still, Mary “trudges solidly forward, hardly glancing” at it. Karl, on the other hand, is drawn into it “with its delicate perfume”. The diction in regards to the tree has a soft connotation, paralleling the tone of the words used to describe Karl. Thus, when he is attracted to the tree, it makes sense. Furthermore, it is described that his cheeks “went pink”, thus matching the color of the tree, showing that Karl identifies with it, not the town.

In the final paragraph, Mary and Karl are contrasted literally through their decisions. After striking the dog, Mary runs towards their aunt’s house, whereas Karl returns to the boxcar. This pivotal moment, revealing Karl’s decision to leave, emphasizes that he did not belong there. More importantly, Karl’s departure parallels the antithesis in the beginning of the piece. Whereas Mary choose to stay as an addition, Karl ultimately leaves, as the subtraction. The single moment’s ability to produce such different reactions in two people emphasizes the idea that different personalities can develop different perspectives.

Reflection

After reading other students' work and also analyzing and ranking the benchmark essays, we were given the opportunity to revise our essays. I fixed it in several different ways. Firstly, I altered the structure and order of my original essays, choosing instead to center each paragraph on the way Erdrich contrasted the characters -- appearance, action, and reaction -- instead of by specific devices. In theory, I think this was a good idea because it allowed me to discuss multiple devices in paragraphs. Still, I did feel like the paragraphs only mentioned one or two devices in them and did not have enough variety. I would have preferred to have found more elements of the piece to discuss in each individual paragraph. I still, of course, have several things to work on. I would like to better address the complexity in the thesis paragraph and also learn how to draw this out throughout the entire piece. I will do this by studying the examples in our textbook further and practicing writing essays on my own.